Forever I will Love You
by Auua Ytjoml
Summary: His silence is her answer. A tear runs unbidden down her cheek. Had she finally found him only to lose him again?
1. Forever to Miss You

A/N - So this is meant to be a three shot, all set to music. Please listen to the accompanying music as I believe that it heightens the effect. All of these songs can be found on you-tube.  
This chapter is set to 'Across the Burren' by Michele McLaughlin.

"Danny!"

Sam cries out from where she lies crumpled on the ground. Tuck grabs her tightly as the air itself seems to implode on them. The last thing Sam sees as the world disappears is her Daniel flying straight into the jaws of the beast. Then all is blank.

Slowly she becomes aware of something warm at her side. It feels nice though she wishes whatever it is would warm more than just the one side of her.

Sometime later she realizes that she's lying flat on her back. Irregular knots dig into her skin, making her uncomfortable.

Gradually she decides she should really open her eyes. Upon dragging her lids up she is greeted by blood red rays of light peeking over the horizon.

All at once memories of the last battle flood her mind and with them all the aches and injuries she had sustained. She struggles to sit upright.

"No!" her cry is strangled – inspired dually by her physical and emotional pains.

"Sam?"

Looking to her left she recognizes the warm presence that had first greeted her return to consciousness. Tuck sits up beside her.

Sam turns away from her friend, desperately trying to hold back her tears. "No. No. No."

"Sam…" Tuck awkwardly wraps his arms around her in an attempt to console both the goth warrior and his own self. Giving into her inward battle Sam leans into the techno and sobs softly. "He's not gone, Tuck. He can't be. He can't be. No…no…no…"

Tuck swallows back his own tears. He wishes he could join Sam in her denial but from the moment he best friend had revealed his final plan Tuck had known the ghostboy wasn't getting out of this alive.

A week ago the three had been nearing the end of a pre-college vacation in Europe when Sam had been kidnapped by Celtic fairies. The mystic creatures had planned to sacrifice her to Crom Cruac, a demon who had terrorized the living in Ireland until St. Patrick had cast him out. As a ghost, the would-be-god turned his 'friendly' attentions on the other spirits of the land 'east o' the sun, west o' the moon'; the Fair Folk.

In the end even with the help of the few Fey who had joined them in their fight, it had been clear none could best the evil wyrm. Rather than allow Sam to be sacrificed Danny had given up his own life saving his friends and the Celtic spirits from destruction.

Now, as Tuck lifts his head to survey their surroundings he wonders what will happen to them now. The moment Danny had made his decision Crom Cruac had expelled the other heros from the fairyland. No doubt their allies had already returned along with the rest of the fairy host but the two human friends are stranded in the middle of nowhere – 'The Burren in west Ireland to specific' – his mind immediately supplies. Not that it really matters.

"Sam?"

The girl had managed to dam her tears for the moment thought they are by no means exausted. She looks up at him with red eyes.

"Are you ready to go now?" With a gesture that encompasses the massive stone portal at their backs and the acres of barren fields and drystone fences before them Tuck silently draws attention to their current position. "We can't stay here forever."

To emphasize his point a soft mist begins to gather around them as a few raindrops fall sporadically from above.

Silently Sam rises to her feet in steady increments, stretching carefully to work function back into her limbs. Beside her Tuck does the same and slowly they make their way down from the lonely hills of Clare.

From the town of Ballyvaghan they abort the rest of their trip and head to the nearest international airport in Limerick. On the flight back Sam is silent and Tuck alternates between well intentioned attempts to comfort her and fiddling with his PDA – more in an attempt to busy himself than with any goal of accomplishing something.

When they touch down their respective parents are there to greet them, the awful news having already been broken to them by Tucker. Unwilling to be parted Sam and Tuck allow themselves to be guided into one of the waiting vehicles.

As Sam looks out on the ordinary landscape flashing by she twists her ring round and round her finger. Danny had tinkered with it so that it glowed green or blue whenever he was around. The stone, a dark lifeless jade, only further cements the inescapable truth. Danny is gone. Her Daniel is gone. Forever.

Suddenly Sam realizes that this is only the first day of the rest of forever. And forever can be a very long time.


	2. Forever to Hold You

A/N - Music: Across the Burren (McLaughlin) whenever nothing else is playing. Danny Boy (any version) when Sam is singing Danny Boy. My Lagan Love played by Jim Anon (search 'my lagan love whistle' on youtube) when Sam wakes up to music. Sunrise Over the Ocean (Tim Janis) directly after this. Sleepsong (by Secret Garden) when that song is being sung (it's the only other lyrics in the chapter).

It had been a year since their best friend and teammate had disappeared… died.

Now the Fentons, Mansons, and Foleys, have returned to his last location for a memorial. Some hope it will bring closure. Some think it would just be painful.

Sam is torn between bittersweet memories of their last adventure and the heartache that surrounded the same. Nevertheless it had been her who had been unable to tear herself away from the gentle hills and fog washed glens of the Emerald Isle. By the end of that summer she had rejected her acceptance letters in the states and had found accommodations and work on an organic farm in the rocky dales of County Clare.

Now, dressed in a short green dress that flares out at her waist when she turns suddenly, and black tights, black elbow-length gloves and black boots Sam lays the first flat stone on the barren rock. Those in charge of the Poulnabron monument had been sympathetic to the families' desires and had even suggested building a memorial at the sight, but the suggestion had received a unanimous negative from the nine mourners. No they did not want the Irish government to immortalize the death of their beloved friend, son, brother… just, no.

Sam allows Tuck to give her support as the small cairn rises quickly, just out of sight of the larger monument. They stand there together as the hours slip away and soon they are the only ones left. Eventually even Tuck quietly leaves Sam to morn alone and it is only when he has trudged slowly out of sight that she allows herself to cry.

Gradually the sun slips over the horizon. When Tuck returns, worried, he is surprised to catch strains of song hovering in the gloaming.

"Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling  
From glen to glen, and down the mountainside  
The summer's gone, and all the flow'rs are dying  
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow  
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow  
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow  
Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so.

And if you come, and all the flowers are dying  
If I am dead, as dead I well may be  
I pray you'll find the place where I am lying  
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me  
And all my grave will warm and sweeter be  
then you'll kneel and whisper that you love me  
Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so"

"Sam?"

The soft voice wakens her from her melancholy and she turns with a sad smile on her face. "Hey Tuck. Sorry t' make ya worry."

Her friend approaches her from where he'd been standing, silently, listening.

"No, you're fine. Just though I'd see if you wanted to get something to eat. Dinner's a bit of a drive away. "

With one last glance over her shoulder Sam joins him . "Nah. Dinner sounds great."

In the car Sam fiddles with the radio and then turns it off.

"So. I didn't know you were into the local music." Tuck cocks his head in her direction, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to judge his friend's reaction.

Seeing his glance Sam shakes her head. "It's ok Tuck. I guess I didn't think it was something to write home about."

"So it's not just…"

"No it's not just that song. 'Danny Boy' just happens to be one of my favorites. You know Doolin, the music capital of Ireland, is not far from here. I go there often."  
"Ah."

The conversation stalls for awhile until Sam picks it up.

"How are you and Laurine getting along?"

"Ah, alright. I invited her to come with us but she said it would be better for me to go alone."

"Good on her." Sam says softly.

Tuck turns his head to raise an questioning eyebrow.

Sam clarifies. "Sometimes the best place to grieve is with your family."

"Which is why you took off across the ocean? To be closer to your family?" The techno retorts.

"You know why I couldn't leave!"

Suddenly Tucker deflates. "Yeah, I know."

Instantly forgiving her friend, Sam squints as if trying to read him and then gasps softly. "I'm sorry Tuck- I didn't realize- You really love her don't you?"

Tucker shifts his shoulders away from her and looks away as much as he can while driving.

Sam lays a hand on his arm. "Don't feel guilty Tuck. I'm glad you've found someone."

"Yeah."

The rest of the drive is passed in silence as the two friends try to decipher the new boundaries within their friendship.

The next day Sam sees everyone off at the airport. Driving home alone she sees the turnoff for the Poulnabron. In a spontaneous decision she takes the narrow road that climbs higher into the heart of the Burren. By the time she reaches the portalstone monument it is mid afternoon. Grabbing her packed lunch Sam avoids the tourists clustered around the iconic stones and makes herself at home on a weathered outcropping of limestone.

The rest of the day slips away softly for the girl -older by years than she had been as a senior fresh out of high-school. How boundless the world had seemed then: with Danny by her side and opportunities opening up on all sides. A year later grief had stripped her of her boundless optimism, but had left her with an almost unearthly grace.

When the last tourist leaves Sam relocates herself. With the sun warm upon her face and the massive stone cool against her back she is almost asleep when a haunting melody rouses her from slumber. Gazing around in confusion she rises as if in a dream.

"Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?"

The music seems to come from everywhere all at once. Only twice had the girl with the warrior's heart heard the like. Both had heralded the arrival of the Fairy people.

"Hello? Do I know you?"

Sam grows angry as the music fades into obscurity.

"Hey! I know you're there! You could at least say 'Hi'!"

"Hi."

The mellow voice comes from behind and catches her off guard in more ways than one. Turning slowly she whispers, "Danny?"

"Who's that?"

The figure silhouetted in the arch of the great stone passageway steps forward into the dying light. Sam takes a small step forward.

"Danny? Is that you?"

The young boy before her smiles uncertainly as Sam studies him with unfathomable violet eyes. His skin is pale to the point of translucency. Aquamarine eyes gaze at her from underneath hair that shimmers a dusky grey bordering on black.

Under her piercing gaze he shivers and she watches in astonishment as he literally fades before her eyes. As if this wasn't enough, a gentle warmth against her breast draws her attention to the ring, hidden on a chain about her neck, glowing for the first time in over a year.

Joy leaps in her heart and suddenly speechless, she smiles at him. Gathering her voice she stammers faintly, "Hi. You don't need to be afraid. My name's Sam."

Shade by shade, what color he has returns to the boy's skin.

"Do you know where I am?" he asks cautiously. His instincts tell him to trust this strange girl but the stare she had subjected him to had scared him. Was she mad at him? Is she still, or not?

Sam steps forward again, still unbelieving, as if in a trance. "You're in County Clare, Ireland. Do you remember this place?"

The ghostly boy takes in the barren landscape. It is oddly beautiful, with clusters of flowers in the long shallow crevices all bathed in a pale blue light created by the last rays of sunlight reflecting off the sea some forty kilometers distant.

"I-" Flashes of light dance across his vision as if obscuring something important. "I don't think so."

Quietly, so quietly that he has to take a step forward to hear her, the girl asks, "Do you remember me?"

His silence is her answer. A tear runs unbidden down her cheek. Had she finally found him only to lose him again?

"Hey, don't cry." With one final step he closes the distance between them. Gently he catches the teardrop as it falls and wipes another from the corner of her other eye.

"Don't cry." He repeats. "I'm here. I can help."

His soft words, spoken out of no fondness for her, she is sure, but only out of the kindness of his heart break down the shields she had steadily built over the last year. Sobbing she clings to him tightly and he returns the gesture, wrapping her in a cool embrace that at the same time warms her chilled core.

"Hey, it's ok. Don't cry now. Everything's going to be ok." His soothing murmurs only increase the intensity of her sorrow.

Unbidden, a melody unknown to him rises in the back of his mind.

"Lay down your head, and I'll sing you a lullaby  
Back to the years of loo-li,lai-ley  
And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow  
Bless you with love for the road that you go

May you sail fair to the far fields of fortune  
With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet  
And may you need never to banish misfortune  
May you find kindness in all that you meet

May there always be angels to watch over you  
To guard you each step of the way  
To guard you and keep you safe from all harm  
Loo-li,loo-li,lai-ley

May you bring love and may you bring happiness  
Be loved in return to the end your days  
Now fall off to sleep I'm not meaning to keep you  
I'll just sit for awhile and sing loo-li,lai-ley

Loo-li,loo-li,lai-ley

Loo-li,loo-li,lai-ley"

Slowly her tears subside and she leans deeper into his embrace.

"Oh Da… nevermind."

He shifts away to look at her. He doesn't know why, but he cares deeply about this strange girl who had so suddenly appeared to him. He doesn't want her to be sad. "What's wrong?"

Sam smiles through the last vestiges of her tears at the concerned boy. "Nevermind, just… just thank you."

"Ah…your welcome?"

For the first time in over a year a real laugh comes unbidden to her lips. Chuckling, he joins in with her merriment unaware that he is the cause.

Ceasing her laughter, Sam smiles joyfully at her Daniel. Even if he doesn't remember her or their adventures or anything, he is still the Danny she fell in love with. And she doesn't know how he came back to them, to her, but just now she's content to hold him in her arms and never let go, forever.


	3. Forever to Love You

A/N - The music for this chapter is Across the Burren (McLaughlin) during the sad parts and Sunrise over the Ocean (Janis) during the happy parts (ends with Sunrise over the Ocean).

The passing of one week would find them back in the states, wandering the familiar - to Sam at least - streets and paths of Amity Park. He had accepted the name the girl Sam had bestowed upon him. Daniel. Danny. It feels comfortable, familiar.

Slowly, tests in the Fenton lab coupled with insights from Sam and Tuck piece together a partial explanation.

"So you're saying I used be half ghost, but I wasn't really half either but one of each in the same body?" Daniel -he'd asked them to call him by the full name- frowns in concentration. The entire Fenton family with the addition of Sam and Tuck are seated in the kitchen with mugs of tea and hot chocolate.

"Well, there was this time that you split yourself into two people; Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton. So that's pretty strong proof for you having been two whole people – a ghost you and a human you." Tucker explains.

Sam strokes the back of his hand with her thumb, trying to send a reassuring message. Despite lacking any and all recollection of his life, the new Danny had still felt strong emotional ties with his old friends and family. It was those ties that had led him across the ocean on the bidding of the stranger girl who had found him.

Now he stands on the brink of discovering who he is and, well frankly, it scares him. He trusts these people, even loves certain of them, but…

"And now I'm actually half ghost, half human?" he continues resolutely.

Again it is Tucker, the boy who claims to be his best friend, who answers. "Both 'human' objects and 'ghost' objects are solid to you. No one wanted to try weapons, but I'd say it's a pretty safe bet both will work against you. On the positive side you've shown an instinctive, well…" the technogeek glances at Sam, "either it's memory or natural instinctive use of your powers. You haven't realized you're using them a lot of the time, but you only 'accidently' use them in your favor, unlike when you first got your powers."

This time it is Sam who interjects. "So at first it was like two Dannys learning to work together but now-"

"Now there's only one Danny, perfectly split between ghost and human."

Abruptly Daniel stands, pushing his chair back from the table. "I'm tired of this. I'm going up to- I'm going upstairs."

Gathering his cocoa he leaves the rest of the group in silence. Sam rises to go after him and Tuck begins to follow suit before Jazz lays a restraining hand on his arm.

"Leave them be Tuck. Danny… Daniel just needs some time."

Upstairs, Sam cracks open the door to his room, then swings it open. Standing in the middle of the floor is the ghostboy. The cup dangles loosely from long fingers. The brown chocolate is a spreading stain against the carpet.

She merely stands in the doorway, offering unspoken support as he turns to her.

"Why?!" All the frustration that he's rarely shown in the past week bursts out in that one word. "Why?" he asks more softly, holding his arms out toward her impeachingly. "Why?"

Tears welling up in her eyes she steps into his room. "I don't know Daniel. I don't know."

"All this stuff means nothing to me!" With a sweep of his arm the boy dismisses the entire room. "Nothing. But…"

He reaches out and traces her face with tentative fingertips. "But, them downstairs, you... you mean so much. And I don't understand."

"It's ok. It's ok."

This time it is Sam who comforts Daniel as he morns the loss of a life he can't remember.

Some time later finds them sitting at the windowsill. Sam is cupped in her love's lap as they take solace from each other.

"Sam?"

"Mm-hm?"

"I want to go home. Not here home. The place I remember. Clare."

Sam shifts closer to him and cups his cheek in her hand. "I know. We'll go home soon. We can stay there as long as you like."

"And…. Sam?"

"Yeah?" She raises her face to match his gaze with her own.

"No matter what else is real or not…. I do love you."

Softly she meets her lips with his. Drawing away slightly violet meets aqua as an understanding passes between the two.

"I know. I love you too. Forever."

A/N - This started out as a one-shot, then a two-shot and now (finally) a three shot. Kudos to everyone who caught the - vast - similarities between this plot and the plot of 'The Hunter's Moon' written by O.R. Melling. I hate to admit it but nothing here is mine but the arrangement of the words and the explanation about Danny. For those of you who didn't quite catch it here's what happened.  
When Danny sacrificed himself Crom Cruac only took one sacrifice, but Danny was essentially two. Whether purposely or not Crom Cruac took half of Dan's human self and half of his ghostly self, leaving him whole, but not quite all there either way.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it. Comments and critiques are always welcome. Till next time, farewell.


End file.
